The Hope of Christmas Blurb:
Cameron Blake has everything a man could want. Or so it appears. But in the dark of night, the contents of a twenty-two year old manila envelope remind him that the one thing he truly wants is beyond his reach.
Kristin Hansen has recently moved home after a messy break-up. While her parents think she’s come back to recuperate after surgery on a broken arm, she’s actually escaping from a relationship that’s turned abusive.
When the pastor of a local church recruits the two to supervise the building of the church’s nativity float for the upcoming Christmas parade, their hidden secrets are exposed. And Cam sees in her the one thing he truly desires…but knows he can never have.
Hope.
First Line:
Kristin Hansen rolled onto her side and pulled the comforter up to her nose. “I hate the cold,” she muttered.
Extract:
Kristin pressed the doorbell, and a muted chiming sounded from inside the apartment. At least one thing in this complex was working right. So she waited. And shivered. And prayed.
Just as she reached to press the bell again, the porch light flashed on, and the door swung inward. An unfamiliar man whose eyes were heavy with sleep and whose blond hair had marched right past messy and straight to explosive leaned against the doorframe. “Yeah?” He yawned.
“Is Steve here?” Struggling to control her shaking, she looked beyond him into the hallway for the maintenance man.
“Nope.” He yawned again. “I’m covering for him. Can I help you?” He opened his eyes wide and seemed to really see her for the first time. “You’re shivering.” He stepped away from the door. “Come in out of the cold.”
She shook her head. “That’s OK. I just…”
He held up a hand and then disappeared down the hall. When he returned, he offered her a blanket. “Here.”
“Th-thank you.” She wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Sure you don’t want to step in for a minute? After all, you have your vicious guard dog with you.” He winked.
As if she understood his words, Lucy bounced toward him. He knelt and scratched behind her ears. “Aren’t you a good dog.” He looked up and grinned.
“Sh-she usually is but not tonight. It’s her f-fault I’m l-locked out of my ap-partment.” He stood. “Sorry. What’s your number?”
She pulled the blanket tighter. “One o t-two.”
“Next building. Let me grab that master. And put some shoes on.”
“Th-thank you.” As he disappeared down the hall, she eased into the entryway and waited. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Although according to the instructor in the self-defense class she took while she was dating Dylan, those were the ones to watch.
But he’d bent down and ruffled Lucy’s ears. What criminal would have done that? Yet, as the instructor had said, people should always be wary around strangers.
She reviewed some of the moves she’d learned. Hammer strike, heel-palm strike, elbow strike, eye strike, and groin kick. She dropped the blanket, fisted her hands, and kicked forward and upward.
“Everything OK?”
She jumped. She hadn’t heard him return. “Me? Some sort of twitch. Nothing to worry about. I’m just freezing.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Might want to get that checked out.”
Inspiration:
Christmas was always such a fun holiday in my family. But some of my friends did not have the same experience. In The Hope of Christmas, Kristin Hansen was born into the family Cameron Blake always wished for. A runaway, Cam has become a self-sufficient loner who believes he can never have the family he wants. And then he meets Kristin. I wanted to show that Christmas is a time of hope no matter your circumstances.
Purchase links:
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-hope-of-christmas-carol-james/ebook/9781522304425.html
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